The Trisphee forum rules have been updated. All users are expected to read and understand them. (Link)

This update is primarily a set of clarifications to better express how the rules are to be interpreted and how they will be enforced.

First, the signature rules have been revised to reflect the actual limitations imposed by the system. Users are now allowed a maximum of four images in their signatures. Additionally, the rules for "clickable" pets have been reworded to make it clear that they are subject to the normal signature image rules, as well as making it official that we allow threads dedicated to them.

Second, in light of recent events, a small bit of clarification has been added to the copyright infringement rule concerning art theft. Trisphee has always required that work that you do not own requires proper attribution or credit. The rule now explicitly states that derivative works still require attribution of the original source. This was always true, but we wanted our user base to know that we do not condone this behavior. We also would like the user to ask the original artist permission to use their base along with giving credit.

Artwork and such that is inspired by something isn't punishable, but if you base your design on an existing piece of work (even if you don't actually copy it directly) you need to give credit. Copying bases, poses or flat out copying and changing colors of the original art is not acceptable unless credit is given. This includes even modified bases -- taking the original art piece and changing it by perhaps making it two pixels bigger or making a specific detail smaller, or even adding on a little extra detail, is still a derivative work. Failing to give credit may result in an infraction or we may edit the post to remove the material. We'll give warnings before passing out disciplinary measures, so you'll be given a chance to come into compliance.

And then finally, an update to the Merchant Square rules that isn't part of the general rules: It's important to note that users are not required to sell to or buy from you if they do not wish to. We understand that getting ignored can feel offensive, but we can't discipline users if they don't respond or accidentally overlook your post. Please refrain from continuing to ask that they do business with you if they choose not to. This may be considered harassment.

Please feel free to PM an administrator for further clarification or feel free to ask here.

it also leave a big gap to say 'ask' for permission, i have seen people ask for permission in ways that do not get them answers so that they can plagerize and steal parts of works. the artist, if they are even there anymore, never finds out because the request is either phrased wrong, hidden under a slew of other things or worst case, the derivatives has already been put up and the question only asked afterwards

it would be better to say 'received permission' and maybe even make sure to state /before/ the work is made

Copyright Infringement: All materials posted must be the property of the poster or must include proper attribution and credit. Plagiarism, "art theft", and other similar actions are prohibited.

We didn't need to add that because it was already in the rules.

Quote:

Originally Posted by littl3chocobo

it also leave a big gap to say 'ask' for permission, i have seen people ask for permission in ways that do not get them answers so that they can plagerize and steal parts of works. the artist, if they are even there anymore, never finds out because the request is either phrased wrong, hidden under a slew of other things or worst case, the derivatives has already been put up and the question only asked afterwards

it would be better to say 'received permission' and maybe even make sure to state /before/ the work is made

Using the above rule, proper attribution means proof that you are allowed to use the work whether for reference or posing etc. If you think that someone does not have permission to use the art or is not crediting with derivative works please report the post and leave a description about it, do not confront the person directly unless instructed to by a moderator.

no, the rules say if you credit you may use, proper attribution by itself means nothing unless you state what /is/ the proper why to give it. nowhere is it stated what you must to to give attribute only that you must credit or own the work, the way it is written i can steal an anime screencap and as long as i say where i got it and who created it i am fine, this is not the case since virtually all animes have a non-derivative clause and needs clarification

it needs to be clearly stated that that is what is needed to give proper attribution. to be quite frank the rules as they are posted are very generic and vague, if you will not tighten the rules up in a clear and concise way the least you can do is make a translation of the rules in 'lay-man' terms so that there is no confusion and no way to purposely misinterpret the rules, it would be nice as well if that could be linked so people can find it

remember, many of the users don't actually understand what any of that means, i talk to people every day who get lost and freely admit they don't have any clue what these things say in fact i am arguing with a girl right now on another site who says because she isn't selling it she can take screencaps of the items and give them away as adoptable pets and her reasoning is that she does not understand the rule that says the content of the site is not freeshare and because when a staff member sent a cease and desist letter over adoptables to another member they did not mention anything about giving them away for free(it was a letter to someone selling adoptables for money on deviantart)

The rule is stating if you want to use someone's work (art included) you must get permission from the owner of said work. I believe it will be covered on a case by case basis such as if an artist reports that they did not give credit for their art to be used. Or if a writer reports that someone has copied their material without giving consent.

I think what I am stating is correct, I'm not entirely sure since I'm a bystander. I apologize if I am dead wrong in what I have stated and if I did nothing to answer your question, chocobo.

Chi is correct. Trisphee, being a US site run by a US company, is following the precedent set by DMCA. We consider users "innocent until proven guilty" and assume you have permission to be posting the copyrighted material you're posting until a violation is reported. We ask that you provide the courtesy of giving credit to the creator, not as a matter of law but because we believe that creators should receive recognition for their creations.

This has always been our position regardless of the specific wording of the rules, so if this isn't clear from how we've written it we'll refine the verbiage -- but we won't change our stance.

Mega Man: The Light of Will (Mega Man / Green Lantern crossover: In the lead-up to the events of Mega Man 2, Dr. Wily has discovered emotional light technology. How will his creations change how humankind thinks about artificial intelligence? Updated sporadically. Sufficient Velocity x-post)

But we're not going to go out of our way to have the mods go and look up EVERY image and EVERY quote anyone ever posts. We can't ENFORCE anything stricter because it's IMPOSSIBLE -- anyone could easily just LIE and say "yeah, I asked" when they didn't, and we wouldn't be able to confirm the permission most of the time because we simply don't have the contact information for most creators. However, if it DOES come to our attention that something is infringing, and it can be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt, then we'll take action.

Furthermore a great deal of stuff could be considered "fair use" by way of editorial comment or parody. This is, for example, why Ashy's signatures don't break the rules -- they're considered parody as they're presented for their joke value in their context (or possibly editorial comment, as they're drawing attention to a specific scene for commentary), and Ashy isn't committing plagiarism because she's not claiming to own or have created the material.

We're not going to take a "guilty until proven innocent" stance. We're not going to cast unreasonable suspicion on people who post creative material. We're not going to let Trisphee become a police state where you feel like you want to check with a moderator before you make a post. This isn't a healthy environment for anyone -- not our users (they shouldn't live in fear), and not our staff (they shouldn't spend all of their waking hours researching every little thing).

Mega Man: The Light of Will (Mega Man / Green Lantern crossover: In the lead-up to the events of Mega Man 2, Dr. Wily has discovered emotional light technology. How will his creations change how humankind thinks about artificial intelligence? Updated sporadically. Sufficient Velocity x-post)